I Am Ghost - Lover's Requiem

I Am Ghost didn’t exactly follow the book when they started their rise to fame. Using Mypsace, the band gathered a complete line up and went out and recorded a demo only two months after forming as a band. ‘We Are Always Searching’ received quite a solid reaction within the local scene and shortly after that, Epitaph took notice, signing the band and re-releasing their demo EP. While ‘We Are Always Searching’ had its moments, it was marred by horrendous production, which was only an inevitability due to it being a demo and not having too much money spent on it. So with a bigger production budget and enough time to get comfortable with each other’s ideas, I Am Ghost finally is releasing their first proper release, ‘Lover’s Requiem,’ which is quite surprising and at times overwhelming.

While I Am Ghost doesn’t exactly play a style of music that is anything remarkable, it’s no surprise that their blend of emo/screamo/metal is completely eaten up by the scene. And thanks to the string sections on the songs, with occasional duel male/female vocals, it helps separate I Am Ghost from the thousands of bands filling up this saturated genre.

After a slightly undignified introduction, the album roars out the gates with ‘Our Friend Lazarus Sleeps.’ The album basically offers a preview of the rest of the album, displaying passable singing, abundant screaming, duel male/female vocals, strings and plenty of chaotic ‘freak out’ moments that help define the album. While nothing outstanding, the crushing mix of guitars, double bass drums, screaming and violin does create an overwhelming wall of sound that is bound to keep the listener’s interest.

‘Killers Like Candy’ shows that you don’t need to scream to craft an enjoyable song, as the screaming is muted in favor of vocal harmonies and guitar melodies. However, not every track is on the same page, as ‘Dark Carnival of the Immaculate’ comes off as a sophomoric mixing of From First to Last and Avenged Sevenfold, minus the latter’s musicianship. ‘Pretty People Lie, Vampires Never Really Die’ is one of the few left overs from the demo, and while it packs a wallop, it still has a disappointing after taste. While the production is far better here, the song seems rater watered down compared to the demo version and just doesn’t come off as strong. However, ‘We Are Always Searching’ retains the original’s velocity and may be the albums best song, displaying a rather catchy chorus and the best song writing on the entire album. ‘Lover’s Requiem’ starts off with the same kick drum intro that I’ve heard for the umpteenth time. From Fall Out Boy to the Classic Crime to Plain White T's, the same kick drum (or nearly identical) has been used to kick off so many songs that it’s not even funny anymore. However, any distaste in lack of originality is completely forgotten after the string introduction on ‘The Ship of Pills and Needed Things.’

While a majority of ‘Lover’s Requiem’ is an enjoyable album, not everything is perfect here. One of the biggest drawbacks on the album is the extremely weak and cheesy lyrics. While the singing is passable and easily better than most other similar bands, the screaming comes off as over abundant and isn’t exactly noteworthy. And to top it all of, the last three songs on this album are appalling, as they slow down the pace and serve no real purpose besides making the album longer.

‘Lover’s Requiem’ is about as good as your going to get from this scene. The musicianship, while not amazing, is memorable and showcases more originality then many of the bands that preceded I Am Ghost. The screaming definitely needs to be reconsidered, as it’s often rather abrasive and misplaced, but the duel vocal harmonies keep the vocals afloat. Another piece of advice for the band is to drop the dead weight, as the album could have easily been trimmed by 10 minutes, which would have made the entire thing easier to get through. But for what it is, ‘Lover’s Requiem’ is one of the scene’s best albums, and would be a much better listen then label mates From First to Last and Escape the Fate.

This review is a user submitted review from crazytoledo. You can see all of crazytoledo's submitted reviews here.

and this band is awful..definately not even close to the best this scene has even you're talking emo/screamo/metal, but maybe you mean the goth/rock scene that includes bands like from first to last, escape the fate, and aiden with them then you might be right. they rank with those shitty bands to me.

basically you are insulting emo/metal/screamo bands that are 100% better than them by saying this is the best that it gets for this scene..you suck.

Well, I remember listening to "We're Always Searching" and thinking in my head that it screams cliche, but I saw them live and they are all good guys, I don't know, it was enjoyable if I just didn't try to analyze everything, because I'd just end up being disappointed, being that almost everything relates to vampires and all that, which is getting way too old in my opinion. But yeah, I'll give them a listen, just because i thought some of thier tunes were catchy. I think you're right with your rating, a 66%, sounds like something they'd make, something thats decent, but doesnt blow you out of your socks.

and this band is awful..definately not even close to the best this scene has even you're talking emo/screamo/metal, but maybe you mean the goth/rock scene that includes bands like from first to last, escape the fate, and aiden with them then you might be right. they rank with those shitty bands to me.

When I said that they're the best in the scene, I meant the emo/screamo/goth scene that is populated by bands like From First to Last, Aiden and Escape the Fate.

This band is great!!! They don't sound at all like Aiden (who sucks!) just maybe a bit like Escape the Fate (who is good!). Whoever thinks they are emo doesn't know what they are talking about. They are melodic mix of goth/pop/hardcore. I am a huge of fan of We Are Always Searching EP. I bought Lovers' Requiem and then listened to the whole thing on MySpace. Its a good record but I do admit it could be a bit better. Songs like Dark Carnival, and the Denouement are real good and original!!! The old re-recorded songs like Pretty People Never Lie and We Are Always Searching are still good but not as great as the old EP versions. I don't know what is up with the sound quality and production but those songs have a much slower pace then on the EP. It seems like the voices are electronically synthesized on the album too which is not real good. Overall, I love the acutual music except for the sound quality and some of the production. The latin choirs are really cool and anyone will admit that the girl/guy singing and violin parts are just amazing!!!

This band is great!!! They don't sound at all like Aiden (who sucks!) just maybe a bit like Escape the Fate (who is good!). Whoever thinks they are emo doesn't know what they are talking about. They are melodic mix of goth/pop/hardcore. I am a huge of fan of We Are Always Searching EP. I bought Lovers' Requiem and then listened to the whole thing on MySpace. Its a good record but I do admit it could be a bit better. Songs like Dark Carnival, and the Denouement are real good and original!!! The old re-recorded songs like Pretty People Never Lie and We Are Always Searching are still good but not as great as the old EP versions. I don't know what is up with the sound quality and production but those songs have a much slower pace then on the EP. It seems like the voices are electronically synthesized on the album too which is not real good. Overall, I love the acutual music except for the sound quality and some of the production. The latin choirs are really cool and anyone will admit that the girl/guy singing and violin parts are just amazing!!!

This band is great!!! They don't sound at all like Aiden (who sucks!) just maybe a bit like Escape the Fate (who is good!). Whoever thinks they are emo doesn't know what they are talking about. They are melodic mix of goth/pop/hardcore. I am a huge of fan of We Are Always Searching EP. I bought Lovers' Requiem and then listened to the whole thing on MySpace. Its a good record but I do admit it could be a bit better. Songs like Dark Carnival, and the Denouement are real good and original!!! The old re-recorded songs like Pretty People Never Lie and We Are Always Searching are still good but not as great as the old EP versions. I don't know what is up with the sound quality and production but those songs have a much slower pace then on the EP. It seems like the voices are electronically synthesized on the album too which is not real good. Overall, I love the acutual music except for the sound quality and some of the production. The latin choirs are really cool and anyone will admit that the girl/guy singing and violin parts are just amazing!!!

I give it a good 7/10.

You ranted and raved about this cd, and you just gave it an average rating.

i really do not think this band is that bad theyre not exactly original
but they do have a violinist how many bands can say that?
their music is good but im extremely upset about the remix of "Pretty People Never Lie" because the version on the EP sounded 10 times better raw and with worse production
i like this CD its like a 7 or 8 in my mind
reminds me of a lot of the more gothic stuff AFI has done and of MCR

i really do not think this band is that bad theyre not exactly original
but they do have a violinist how many bands can say that?
their music is good but im extremely upset about the remix of "Pretty People Never Lie" because the version on the EP sounded 10 times better raw and with worse production
i like this CD its like a 7 or 8 in my mind
reminds me of a lot of the more gothic stuff AFI has done and of MCR

I agree that 'Pretty People Never Lie, Vampires Really Never Die' did sound better as a demo, but at least the solo part is audible now.

I came across an interview in outburn magazine (www.outburn.com) Issue #36 where Steve Juliano (singer) cites the new record as Epitaphs "First Major Tool or HIM meets AFI sort of big, epic release".

After Laughing, I recalled the days when he was in a band called "The Silence".

(http://www.myspace.com/thesilencemusic) Steve Juliano would never mention his band "The Silence" in any interview. He quit the band and took it's vital connections with him. After snaking their myspace page with about 40K people and changing it to I AM GHOST, he recruited kids 10 years younger than him (17-18 year olds) and absorbed their talent. Also, he was in a SKA/Punk band called FALLOUT. So it's safe to say Steve Juliano has been chasing "the scene" for over a decade.

In the interview, he acted like he was never in the music scene at all and just worked all day, having a band as a little side project. FAR FAR from the truth. He has climbed on top of many people for years to get where he is.

Predictions:
*I think that Epitaph is going to milk this band and that they signed a shitty contract.
*I'm predicting the next record will be slower and ready for radio, and I am Ghost will be a variation of Evanescence.
*If they Hit Big on the next record, they will have 2 follow ups before dissolving.
*Steve will retire from music and use his acquired attention to create a line of artwork.

In all fairness, Lovers Requiem is well put together, with melodic guitars, a pro-tools triggered sound, and some good harmonies. They should have a good run for a few years. In all honesty, this music lacks the true emotion that makes bands truly "EPIC".

How can you say that this is unoriginal? There's so much depth to their sound and it's so much better written than anything else you compared it to. And the musicianship? In my opinion they're all extrememly talented but I know what I'm talking about a little on percussion and at least give the drums some credit. The drummer is insane the whole way through the album. There's more goin on at any given 30 sec than most GOOD drummers have on an entire album. And the only thing similar about the intro to Lover's Requiem FOB/PWT (which is the same) is that it's just bass to snare minus the cymbals. The beat's completely different. There's only so many ways you can combine snare and bass to get the 2 and 4 effect and you can't generalize everything that does to be the same beat as FOB/PWT.